Beachwood Mayor Merle Gorden eats out a lot -- with city council's blessing -- but his expense account doesn't reflect the reality of life for other suburban officials, says Avon Mayor Jim Smith.

Avon Mayor Jim Smith has a message for weary taxpayers.

Smith, who's been mayor of this top-rated suburb of 22,000 for nearly 20 years, says that not all suburban officials live as large and care-free as Beachwood Mayor Merle Gorden.

I wrote about Gorden Sunday. I criticized the highest paid mayor in Ohio – Gorden's annual base pay is nearly $200,000 -- for billing taxpayers for meals he enjoys with co-workers and business and civic leaders. The leader of suburb of 12,000 racked up an $18,000 food tab since December of 2010.

Gorden absurdly claims that eating with co-workers and business leaders contributes to the city's success. Smith, who plans to retire at the end of his current term, is as surprised by the Gorden's spending habits as many of you are.

"I'm worried people think this is how all city officials are," Smith said. "All city officials do not do this."

Smith has dealt with many big developers in his fast growing community, which is west of Cleveland in Lorain County. But he said lunches do not matter to them and business leaders.

"Nobody expects you to do these things," he said.

Smith is no pauper. He earns a comfortable salary, nearly $110,000 as mayor in addition to a car allowance. But he insists he is a miser when it comes to personal expenses charged to the taxpayers. He said he's billed the city for about $100 worth of food per year, typically when traveling to and from Columbus. He said in 20 years in office, he's billed a total of about $2,000, and he challenged me to review his records.

"I am comfortable, so I don't think the city should pay for me to eat," he said.

Gorden sees it differently, and so do his supporters. A dozen or so sent letters to me on his behalf. They mocked my column, calling it "dumb" and "silly" and a "waste of time and space." Several accused me of being jealous. Gorden's supporters, including people with businesses in Beachwood, said Gorden deserves whatever he gets because the suburb is so successful.

Don't get me wrong. Plenty of you told me you take offense at a mayor who hits up taxpayers for daily meals, but some called my column petty.

What I find petty is a mayor who collects his salary andadditional annual retirement payments worth $157,000 but still jacks his residents for the cost of his favored pens and chicken sandwiches. That says plenty about Gorden's culture of entitlement.

Gorden and his supporters also like to compare his job to that of a CEO of a major company, which is preposterous. A government is not a business. And public officials do not operate anything like a CEOs.

When businesses need money, for instance, they can't raise taxes to make ends meet, as Beachwood did in 2010 with modest voter approval. Government officials ask us to elect them to serve, and we expect them to be good stewards of our cash.

Gordenis wasting tax money on his personal spending.In addition to his salary and lunch account, Gorden enjoys a good social life on the public tab.

The city pays for Gorden to attend any charity event he chooses. This is done with the backing of city council, which passed an ordinance in 2011 that allows the mayor or council to expense up to $30,000 worth of charity tickets and sponsorships each year. The only limitation is that the mayor has to get special permission to buy a ticket that cost more than $500 or sponsorship more than $2,500.

Gorden attended a charity event May 14, known as "The 250," a benefit for the Big Brothers/Big Sisters Northeast Ohio. The event, for which tickets cost $385, was held in Mayfield Heights and was billed as the "most majestic evening for men." It featured an oyster bar and baby lamb and other food by celebrity chefs. The event also included raffles for numerous prizes, including cash.

Though Gorden was there as a representative of Beachwood for work-related purposes, he participated in the raffle games and won $5,000.

Rather than recuse himself or let the charity keep the money, Gorden accepted it, but on May 29, he made a $5,000 deposit in cash to the city of Beachwood, according to a copy of the deposit ticket. (Gorden didn't return a call seeking further explanation.)

This all seems odd to me. Beachwood doesn't help a charity by taking $5,000 from it. Nonetheless, Gorden's supporters, including city council, see this as a normal course of business.

It is not.

Beachwood is a great suburb by all accounts, but a suburb's greatness doesn't lie in its mayor's salary, expense account, or social life.